Tigers take on Eagles in Chestnut Hill

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2009 - Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two ACC squads trying to get back in the win column hook up at the Conte Forum tonight, as the Boston College Eagles entertain the 12th-ranked Clemson Tigers in Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles were in play just this past Sunday, when they were handled, 93-76, by Wake Forest. The loss brought the team's five-game winning streak to an abrupt end and dropped it to a still solid 18-7 overall and 6-4 within the conference. BC now returns back to the Conte Forum, where it has gone a respectable 12-3 on the campaign.

As for the Tigers, they trounced Duke (74-47) last Wednesday to catch the eye of any doubters, but on Saturday, they suffered a major letdown and were nipped at home by then unranked Florida State, 65-61. The surprising loss ended a three-game win streak by Clemson, which fell to 19-3 overall and 5-3 in league play. Still, with a triumph tonight, the Tigers would reach the 20- win plateau for the third straight season, a feat the program has never accomplished before.

Clemson leads the all-time series with BC, 6-3, and has won the last two meetings. The Eagles however, are a perfect 3-0 when taking on the Tigers in Chestnut Hill.

The Tigers are forcing opponents into 17.7 turnovers per game and they have capitalized on those miscues, averaging a hardy 78.1 pg on the season. Trevor Booker is the team's leading scorer (14.9 ppg) as well as rebounder (8.8 rpg) and he also has 53 blocks to his name. KC. Rivers has provided a nice complement to him with 14.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg, while Terrence Oglesby checks in with 13.0 ppg on the strength of 39.4 percent shooting from long range. On Saturday, Clemson let a 19-point second-half lead get away, as FSU closed out the game with a 23-4 run for the 65-61 upset. It was a complete collapse by the Tigers, who went just 6-of-24 from long range and were guilty of 18 mishaps. Booker and Demontez Stitt both scored 11 points to pace Clemson in defeat, while Rivers and Raymond Sykes chipped in with 10 points apiece.

The Eagles have done a sound job at the offensive end of the court this season, as they are scoring 76.4 pg and shooting 44.8 percent from the field. Tyrese Rice is one of the more talented players in the ACC and he leads BC in scoring (18.0 ppg), assists (5.5 apg) and steals (39). Joe Trapani puts forth 13.9 ppg and a team-best 6.8 ppg and he has shown off his range by knocking down 37.3 percent of his attempts from three-point distance. Rakim Sanders adds 12.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg to the lineup, while Corey Raji contributes 10.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg. On Sunday, the Eagles committed 15 turnovers that resulted in 23 points for Wake Forest in a 93-76 setback. BC actually held a one-point edge at the break before allowing WF to shoot a blistering 65.5 percent from the floor in the second stanza. Trapani guided BC with 19 points, while Rice had 18 points and six boards.

Sportsook NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.